Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Truly a wonderful essay. It is true that Korea once looked upon the Philippines as its model nation. Now, Korea has overtaken us. It is sad to note, but true, that we filipinos lack love for our country. We have become too jaded. I have been active in various organizations involved with uplifiting the plight of our citizens, but the sad fact, which was so aptly said in that essay is that filipinos have long lost interest in its country and its fellow filipinos. We have built walls around us and we became concerned only with ourselves. The past decades, we have battled foreign aggresors, fought dictators, fought corrpution... but we have lost. We lost because we became complacent with the fact that we filipinos have the power within us to remove people who do not serve our needs. This is the bad side of what we came to know as people power. We ourselves have become to drunk with power (whether we'd like to admit it or not) that we have lost focus... we have lost sight of our true objective. We believed that everything began and ended with EDSA. But the revolution is far from over. I am not talking about ousting the government, but a true revolution.. the one that Korea did, the one that elevated them to the status they now enjoy... the status we once enjoyed... The Koreans didn't stop with just achieving their ideal status. they went far beyond their target. They have a vision. They have true patriotism. They were willing to receive paltry salaries in exchange for a better Korea. who among us can say that we too can do the same? I truly admire our batchmates who, inspite of the big salaries they earn abroad, have decided to return home and help the country.

Filipinos always complain about the corruption inthe Philippines . Do you really think the corruption is the problem of the Philippines ? I do notthink so. I strongly believe that the problem isthe lack of love for the Philippines .Let me first talk about my country, Korea . It might help you understand my point. After the Korean War, South Korea was oneof the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratch because entire country wasdestroyed after the Korean War, and we had nonatural resources.Koreans used to talk about the Philippines , forFilipinos were very rich in Asia . We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off likeFilipinos. Many Koreans died of famine. My father & brother also died because of famine. Korean government was very corrupt and is still verycorrupt beyond your imagination, but Korea wasable to develop dramatically because Koreans really did their best for the common good with their heartburning with patriotism.Koreans did not work just for themselves but alsofor their neighborhood and country. Education inspired young men with the spirit of patriotism. 40 years ago, President Park took over thegovernment to reform Korea . He tried to borrow money from other countries, but it was not possible to get aloan and attract a foreign investment because theeconomic situation of South Korea was so bad. Korea had only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine workers and nurses to Germany so thatthey could send money to Korea to build a factory. They had to go through horrible experience.In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrowmoney. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the airport to welcome him and cried there as they sawthe President Park . They asked to him, "President,when can we be well off?" That was the only question everyone asked to him. President Park cried withthem and promised them that Korea would be welloff if everyone works hard for Korea , and the President of Germany got the strong impression on themand lent money to Korea . So, President Park wasable to build many factories in Korea . He always asked Koreans to love their country from their heart.Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USAcame back to Korea to help developing country because they wanted their country to be well off. Though they received very small salary, they did theirbest for Korea . They always hoped that their children would live in well off country.My parents always brought me to the places wherepoor and physically handicapped people live. They wanted me to understand their life and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church when I was in the army. The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that wehave to love our neighborhood. And, I have loved my neighborhood. Have you cried for thePhilippines ? I have cried for my country severaltimes. I also cried for the Philippines because of so manypoor people. I have been to the New Bilibidprison. What made me sad in the prison were theprisoners who do not have any love for their country. They go to mass and work for Church. They prayeveryday. However, they do not love the Philippines . Italked to two prisoners at the maximum-security compound, and both of them said that they would leave thePhilippines right after they are released from theprison. They said that they would start a new life in other countries and never come back to the Philippines .Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so thatwe were able to share our wealth with our neighborhood. The owners of factory and company were distributed their profit to their employees fairly so that employees couldbuy what they needed and saved money for thefuture and their children.When I was in Korea , I had a very strong faith andwanted to be a priest. However, when I came to the Philippines ,I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many unbelievablesituations in the Philippines . Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday. The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia , but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every Sunday to pray, but nothing hasbeen changed.My parents came to the Philippines last week andsaw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when theywere young. They are so sorry that there are somany beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan, I forced my parents to take a boat becauseit would fun. However, they were not happy aftertaking a boat. They said that they would not take the boatagain because they were sympathized theboatmen, for the boatmen were very poor and had asmall frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it.But, my parents did not enjoy it because of lovefor them.My mother who has been working for Catholic Churchsince I was very young told me that if we just go to mass without changing ourselves, we are notCatholic indeed. Faith should come with action.She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God. I want Filipinos to love theirneighborhood and country as much as they love Godso that the Philippines will be well off.I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinosshould remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person. Love must start in everybody, in a s mall scale and have to grow. A lot ofthings happen if we open up to love. Let's put awayour prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes.I discover that every person is worthy to beloved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible. Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world. Please love yourneighborhood and country.Jesus Christ said that whatever we do to others wedo to Him. In the Philippines , there is God for people who are abused and abandoned. There is God who is crying for love. If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines . Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country. You already know that God also will be very happy if you love others.That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.

Monday, February 26, 2007

I don't know about you, but whenever my family and i travel to bicol by car, there's a certain place near iriga that i really look forward to. It's a big rice field by the highway, and every time we pass by (usually about 4 pm, because we usually leave manila around 4 am) i cannot help but feel a certain kind of tranquility. The field itself is quite big, with a clear backdrop of a hill, and lots and lots of trees. But i really look forward to the smell of burning palay. It's a semll i really really love. Every time i get a whiff of that particular smell, it reminds of that field. It brings me peace and tranquility beyond imagination. I really look forward to it when we visit this Holy Week.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Many public affairs programs on television and radio today have been discussing the relevance of people power in today's generation. we have been subjected to two such outward expression of unity and show of force (Edsa 1 and Edsa 2). I thought i'd throw my hat into the ring adn give my two cents worth on the subject.

People power (for me, that is) has lost its mystic, its magic, its relevance to today's generation. The tendency of pinoys to abuse what they think is a good thing has caused our culture some serious damage. This scenario is prevalent in almost all aspects of pinoy life. In music and television, there is over-exposure. Look at tha song Hawak Kamay. Initially, the song really was good, but pinoys over-exposed the song and now some, if not most people find themselves close to puking whenver they hear the song. This goes with tv (look at the phenomenon pinoy big brother). Sadly, this cultural flaw has been seen in people power as well. People no longer see "people power" as a force for good, but an instrument of politics that is sadly overused by those in the opposition. They tried it many times. Edsa Tres, the Malacanang Siege, and even in the failed Oakwood Mutiny where they tried to muster people to rally behind coup plotters. It is no wonder that people are fed up with the so-called people power.

there is no dictator to oust now. Freedoms are still protected (even if Allan peter Cayetano and the rest of the opposition believe otherwise). The opposition claim that people pwoer is needed because freedom is being threatened. But the mere fact that they can say this out load in the tri-media is a perfect example that no freedom or right has been curtailed. Sadly, people are fed up by false or imagined scenarios by the opposition. Before 2004, Erap's cohorts have already been "warning" the people that Gloria will declare Martial Law. Aba! Its been 3 years since 2004, nasaan na ang martial law?

Let's face it. No decent filipino in their right mind would join another call for people power. The personalities, for one, are long gone or forgotten. Cardinal Sin is dead and no one seems to even take a backward glance at his contributions to society, Ramos is not the power broker he used to be or protray to be, Cory has lost the support of the people who once elevated her to the presidency. In fact, People power proved to be a failure for most filipinos. Why? The people we ousted are still weilding their Marcoses are back in politics, Erap and his family are still around as well, and most of Marocs' cronies are still weilding power in the corporate world. So people power must be a failure. There was no real change from Marcos to Aquino. The tenant farmers are still tenant farmers, regardless of the so-called Comprehensive Agrarian reform program of Cory. Hacienda Luisita is still Hacienda Luisita. These oligarchial family once argued that if we give the tenant farmers land, they won't have money to maintain the land. Sure, but at least the land is still theirs. They enjoy the fruits of their hardwork and not some paltry token of thanks from the oligarchy.

People power is not only irrelevant now, but is plain dead. We have overused people power, and now people power is being shunned as a political tool -- lacking in sincerity and lacking in genuine unity.

This blog also appears on my column "Random thoughts of a Mapangurirat" at

Sunday, February 18, 2007

It's funny how the world works. What is true now may not be true in the future. Take for example the two battling political camps: The Administration and the Opposition. During the impeachment of deposed president Erap, Loren Legarda was one of those who displayed true animosity towards then administration cohorts Tessie Aquino Orettaetal who refused to allow the opening of the second envelope. Now, Loren is aligned with the Erap camp (whether they like to admit it or not, the United Opposition or Genuine Opposition is still an Erap-controlled group). The former crying lady of the senate is now a happy, smiling buddy of the former actor-turned-president-turned-arrestee. Then there is Tito Sotto who used to bash La Gloria with all his night, as if all his hatred has been channeled towards one person alone. Now, he is with the president's camp! The same goes for Tessie Aquino Oretta. Manny villar, on the other hand, who was the main player in the transmission of the complaint of the impeachment of Erap to the Senate, is now an ally of the very person he tried to impeach! What a strange world we live in.

I didn't vote last election. Because of this, some argue that i forfeited my right to be active in politics by not voting. I countered that part of my rights as a Filipino citizen is not just being able to vote (or the right to suffrage), but also by exercising my right NOT to vote as a form of expression. I stand by my contention: Choosing not to exercise one's right is not an encompassing act of forfeiture of my other rights. Not exercising one's right to suffrage does not diminish one's enjoyment of his OTHER rights. I liken this scenario to the flag law of the US. In the United states of America, people are fiercely protective of their rights under their Constitution's Bill of Rights. To burn the flag is illegal, according to the Flag Law. However, each American is empowered by the Right to Freedom of Expression. The contention of the Civil Rights Activists is that the Flag of America should not just be a symbol of the nation, but a symbol to be used by its citizens in protest, meaning, burning the flag as a sign of protest should be covered by the Bill of Rights, which is higher than the Flag Law, for the Constitution is the foundation of American legal jurisprudence. So it is with voting: Voting should not just be an exercise of choosing officials. Refusing to vote is also an exercise in freedom of expression, which does not limit, stunt, diminish or impugn his other rights. This is the TRUE essence of democracy. Exercising one's right to vote OR exercising one's right NOT to vote. Both are rights which are protected by the very constitution we all uphold and revere.

I have been following the senatorial line up of both the opposition and administration (they go by the names Team Unity and Genuine Opposition now). Sadly for the administration line-up, it is a poorly thought-of line-up. I mean, Cesar Montano for senator? What the hell were they thinking??? I'm not too dandy about the other candidates as well, like Chavit, Ed Angara, Tito Sotto and Tessie Aquino Oretta, for the obvious reason that they were all once so rock-hard anti-Gloria.

Friday, February 16, 2007

I said this before in my previous blogs, here and in my other sites. Those opposing the retake of the nursing licensure examinations last year will suffer the penalty of not being able to take the foreign licensure exams and other gateway examinations to work in other countries. This is exactly what happened with the CGFNS. If you were the US, you'd do the same thing. Sure, not all the takers of the exams cheated, but let's face it. The tests have been tainted, and everyone who took it, cheater or not, will have to deal with the same tainted image as all of the other takers. Now that the shit has hit the fan, these people who are still adamant about refusing to retake the exams are actually blaming the PRC for one reason or another (the best reason i can think of is "shit, i made a mistake! i must blame the goverment for it!" -- common pinoy escapeist reasoning). O, ano na ngayon? What will happen to your stance? You think the president will help you? Of course not! That's stupid thinking. And if she doesn't help you, i'm sure you'll blame her as well. Might as well blame her for everyting, including why we still haven't inhabitted the moon, while you're at it! Serves you right for playing hardball. You should have taken the retake exams!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I recently saw the critically-acclamied movie "The Queen" starring Helen Mirren. At first i thought it was a boring bio-flick about the Queen of England, but it turned out to be a more interesting look at the Queen, particularly during the death of Princess Diana. The guy portraying Tony Blair gets my two thumbs up for being very "Blair-like". If you have time, do watch it. It'll give you a new perspective on the royal family and the house of windsor.

I recently got re-acquainted with The Sims 1, a game i learned from Jackie and Poppo's computer shop in Project 6 a few years back. I used to play The Sims 1 a lot, but whe my old PC went "kerplunk" i never got the chance to re-install it. I recently tried to install it in the laptop i'm using, and, lo and behold, it worked! And now i'm hooked again! If you're into designing houses and garden plots, then The Sims 1 is for you. Sure, there's a lot of hype about The Sims 2 and how realistic the characters are, and they've got great objects downlaods, i'm sure, but i'm still with The Sims 1. I just love to design houses there. There's a forum i recently joined which concur with the assesment that though the new sims game is more realistic in terms of character interphases and all that techie hulabaloo, the Sims 1 gets Top A rating for great designer usage and easy-to-install items. Hey, i might even try the transmogrifier sometime!

Monday, February 05, 2007

I've received so many forwarded messages on my friendster account saying that a certain Allen Smith from Friendster says that friendster is congested and that it is closing soon. I checked with the FAQs section of Friendster recently and this supposed Allen Smith turns out to be a fictional character, and that message that friendster is closing is actually a hoax perpetrated by some people a few years back. According to friendster, friendster is not closing soon, as is the contention of the hoax. So guys, let's stop passing this message around.

I was surfing the net when i stumbled upon my friend's photos at http://www.photo.net/photos/LizMateo. I know for a fact that she's an avid photo buff, but she takes unbelievably stunning pictures! Words aren't good enough to describe the intensity of her photos, and i don't say this because she's my friend, but because the photos are truly beautiful. I didn't think it would be fair to copy the pics and show them here, so just click on the link i mentioned above. Believe me, it's worth your time to see her photos. Liz, like i said in my offline message, truly impressive! More Power!

This is long overdue. I was supposed to write about our recent trip to Hermosa in Bataan, upon the invitation of our friend of seven years, Poppo and wife-to-be Jhackie, but never got around to writing it here on Blogger. We left Manila January 29 right after lunch. We were fetched by Philip (he's more than a driver, but also a trusted confidante of our hosts and a very entertaining guy to boot!). We arrived in Hermosa after about and hour and a half. The 29th was the eve of the Fiesta in Hermosa (technically, it's the fiesta of the Barangay where our hosts live). When we arrived at Poppo's family residence in Hermosa, the place was buzzing with people, preparing for the big feast the next day. Tia Teri, their over-all cook-in-charge of the fiesta was busy directing the people on how to cut, dice or slice the different meat parts, vegetables and other condiments that will go into the feast on the morrow. That night, our hosts served us with truly exotic fare, and everything was delicious! The adobong Sawa (native Reticulated Python), the inihaw na itlog ng sawa, and the adobong itik tasted fanstastic! Of course, it wouldn't be a bisperas without the singing. Poppo, Ater Rose, Jhackie, yours truly, Jesse, Philip and Joel got around to belting out a few songs over three cases of Sann Mig Light and a big bottle of tequila.

The next day, we got to help with the preparations by stuffing the relyenong bangus. You wouldn't believe the effort that goes into that particular piece of savory dish. All in all, with all the preparations that went into the fiesta, the guests of the fiesta were served with an unending array of dishes: fired-chicken in gata marinade, crabs, shrimp, lechon, relyenong bangus, morcon, menudo, igadillo, dinuguan, lots of talaba and many, many more! Truly, the fiesta in Hermosa is one that you will want keep going back to, if only for the food. But it isnt just the food that makes this particular fiesta an enjoyable event. It is the warmth and friendly gait of the people of Hermosa and the family of our gracious hosts that made this trip truly a remarkable one.

By the way, you can also read the alter-ego of this blog (random thoughts of a mapangurirat) at our clan website. The URL is www.banares.bravehost.com/opinion.html . It's my personal column in the clan website.

Also, watch out for the Cacanindin family website. More to come next mapangurirat! Adios muchachos y muchachas! ariba!

Sunday, February 04, 2007

I remember the days when i used to go to a small house near our hosue to play arcade games like Pacman. Hey, i'm not that old. But i do remember those great arcade games and there are times when i really miss them. When my brother gave us the dvd player with the built-in arcade games, i was in heaven! But i found out a way to share these games with my readers of mapangurirat. Well, its not the original.. its actually a clone of the original, but im sure you'll enjoy this game as well! More games to share with you soon!

Thursday, February 01, 2007

The fiesta of Hermosa, Bataan was an enjoyable one. Like last year, we were invited to this year's fiesta by our friend Poppo and Jhackie. My sister and i left with Poppo and Jhackie on the 29th of January and we arrived right at the heart of preparations for the feast on the 30th. Poppo's mom and sister were already there, supervising the preparations. Their cook, Tiang Teri, prepared a sumptuous cavalcade of food that could satisfy even the most satisfying of palates. Relyenong Bangus, Morcon Hamonado, Igadillo, Menudo, Fried Chicken in coconut milk marinade, lechon baboy, lots and lots of talaba and shrimp, dinuguan, putong galapong and other succulent delicacies were laid out before the guests. We were happy to have been asked to help with the stuffing of the relyenong bangus. Mind you, if you think stuffing relyenong bangus is easy, think again! It's a daunting task that takes a lot of getting used to. Thanks to Poppo and Jhackie and Poppo's wonderful family for an enjoyable fiesta!